1861-S Seated Liberty Dime
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 172,500 made
- Mintage
- 172,500
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 2.49 g
- Diameter
- 17.9 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1861-S Seated Liberty Dime worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1861-S is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1861-S Seated Liberty Dime rare?
- Yes. Only 172,500 were made, 29th lowest of the 116 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1861-S Seated Liberty Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0720 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1861 Seated Liberty Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath or inside the wreath, depending on the year. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1861 are scarcer?
- The 1858-S at 60,000, the 1859-S at 60,000, the 1856-S at 70,000, plus 3 more. So the 1861-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1861-S Seated Liberty Dime coins were made?
- 172,500.
What to check on your 1861-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1861 (1.9 million made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1861 Seated Liberty Dime Proof (1,000 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the shield is the key: a full, readable LIBERTY marks a coin in Fine or better. Then check Liberty's head and knee.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1861-S
San Francisco made 172,500 in 1861, up from 140,000 in 1860. In 1862 the figure was 180,750.
The other mint made far more that year: 1861 alone came to 1.9 million, roughly 11 for every 1861-S. If you're checking a pile of 1861 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1865-S (175,000) and the 1862-S (180,750).
Across San Francisco's 29 Seated Liberty Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1885-S with 43,690 made. The 1861-S is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1860s it's 11th smallest of 21, between the 1863-S (157,500) and the 1865-S (175,000).
The legend moves to the obverse (1860 to 1862)
In 1860 Chief Engraver James B. Longacre removed the stars from the obverse and put UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in their place. On the reverse a larger cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves now surrounds ONE DIME. San Francisco did not receive the new dies in time. Its 140,000 dimes of 1860 still have the stars obverse and the old laurel wreath reverse, which makes the 1860-S the last of the stars type.
New Orleans struck only 40,000 dimes in 1860, a key date of the series. Louisiana left the Union early in 1861 and the mint was seized, so no New Orleans dimes were made again until 1891. Philadelphia struck 606,000 in 1860 and 1,883,000 in 1861, then just 847,000 in 1862. San Francisco made 172,500 and 180,750 in those two years.
The Civil War explains the drop. At the end of 1861 banks stopped paying out gold and silver for paper money. Within months silver coins vanished from circulation in the East and postage stamps and small paper notes took their place. Proofs continued at 1,000 a year in 1860 and 1861 and 550 in 1862. When you identify a dime from these years, the legend is the quickest clue: legend on the obverse means 1860 or later. The legend design stayed in use with only minor changes until 1891.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1861
The Civil War began. Confederate forces seized the branch mints at New Orleans, Charlotte and Dahlonega. New Orleans struck some half dollars under Confederate control before closing.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock, her right hand resting on a shield crossed by a scroll reading LIBERTY. Her left hand holds a pole topped by a liberty cap and the date is below. The 1837 and 1838-O coins have nothing else on the obverse. From 1838 to 1860 thirteen stars surround her and from 1860 the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA take their place. Drapery hangs from her left elbow on coins from late 1840 on. Arrows flank the date on most dimes of 1853 to 1855 and of 1873 to 1874. The reverse shows ONE DIME inside a laurel wreath ringed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA until 1860. After that a larger cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves surrounds the words. Branch mint marks are on the reverse near the bow.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Dime (1837–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 172,500 |
| Face value | 10¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 2.49 grams |
| Diameter | 17.9 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0720 troy oz (2.241 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1861 Seated Liberty Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861 Seated Liberty Dime | 1,883,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0720 oz |
| 1861 Seated Liberty Dime Proof | 1,000 | Proof | 0.0720 oz |
| 1861-S Seated Liberty Dime | 172,500 | Circulation strike | 0.0720 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.